2 Kings 1:7-17

7 And he saith unto them, `What [is] the fashion of the man who hath come up to meet you, and speaketh unto you these words?'

8 And they say unto him, `A man -- hairy, and a girdle of skin girt about his loins;' and he saith, `He [is] Elijah the Tishbite.'

9 And he sendeth unto him a head of fifty and his fifty, and he goeth up unto him (and lo, he is sitting on the top of the hill), and he speaketh unto him, `O man of God, the king hath spoken, Come down.'

10 And Elijah answereth and speaketh unto the head of the fifty, `And if I [am] a man of God, fire doth come down from the heavens, and consume thee and thy fifty;' and fire cometh down from the heavens, and consumeth him and his fifty.

11 And he turneth and sendeth unto him another head of fifty and his fifty, and he answereth and speaketh unto him, `O man of God, thus said the king, Haste, come down.'

12 And Elijah answereth and speaketh unto them, `If I [am] a man of God, fire doth come down from the heavens, and consume thee and thy fifty;' and fire of God cometh down from the heavens, and consumeth him and his fifty.

13 And he turneth and sendeth a third head of fifty and his fifty, and the third head of fifty goeth up, and cometh in, and boweth on his knees over-against Elijah, and maketh supplication unto him, and speaketh unto him, `O man of God, let be precious, I pray thee, my soul and the soul of thy servants -- these fifty -- in thine eyes.

14 Lo, come down hath fire from the heavens, and consumeth the two heads of the former fifties and their fifties; and, now, let my soul be precious in thine eyes.'

15 And a messenger of Jehovah speaketh unto Elijah, `Go down with him, be not afraid of him;' and he riseth and goeth down with him unto the king,

16 and speaketh unto him, `Thus said Jehovah, Because that thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub god of Ekron -- is it because there is not a God in Israel to inquire of His word? therefore, the bed whither thou hast gone up -- thou dost not come down from it, for thou dost certainly die.'

17 And he dieth, according to the word of Jehovah that Elijah spake, and Jehoram reigneth in his stead, in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, for he had no son.

2 Kings 1:7-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS

\\COMMONLY CALLED THE FOURTH BOOK OF THE KINGS\\

This, and the preceding book, are properly but one book divided into two parts, because of the size of it, as the book of Samuel; it is a continuation of the history of the kings of Israel and Judah; and for a further account of it the reader is referred to the title of the preceding book.

\\INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 1\\

This chapter begins with the rebellion of Moab against Israel, 2Ki 1:1, relates a fall of the king of Israel in his house, which brought on him a sickness, about which he sent messengers to inquire of the god of Ekron, who were stopped by Elijah, and bid to return, as they did; and upon the king's examination of them about the cause of their return, he perceived it was Elijah that forbad them, 2Ki 1:2-8, upon which the king sent to him two captains, with fifty men each, one after another, to bring him to him, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 2Ki 1:9-12, but a third with fifty men sent to him were spared, and he is bid to go along with them with a message to the king, as he did, 2Ki 1:13-16 and the chapter is closed with the death of Ahaziah, 2Ki 1:17,18.